Indian batters can lift WC: Kapil

Dubai, Jan 28(Agencies): Kapil Dev, the charioteer of World Cup 1983, believes that India has the strongest batting line up in the world, and has the potential to lift 2011 World Cup being played in the Indian subcontinent.

Answering a query whether India has a balanced team, Cricketing icon said, "The Indian team for the World Cup is the strongest batting line-up we have ever seen in world cricket. So if they can play to their abilities they can emerge world champions."

When asked whether Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni can follow what he did in 1983 by lifting the World Cup, Dev said, "Dhoni should do better than me. He is a very fine cricketer, a fantastic captain and I hope he can achieve everything he wanted."

Refusing to name anyone as the dark horse of the tournament, Kapil Dev said, "I don't think there are any dark horses this time. Three to four teams have an edge over others. England has come up with a very good team”.

“I've always had a lot of faith in Sri Lanka and Australia is not the same team they used to be. South Africa has showed they have bowlers who can run through any side. Pakistan is the most unpredictable team. You can never say what they can do. They can upset anybody on their day."

He added that playing in front of the home crowd would be both an advantage as well as a disadvantage for the Indian team.